Dan

I don't like Bill as much as I used to, but that segment was probably one of his best. Sadly, I think he's exactly right on this.

Mike86

He probably is very sadly right on the money with many of those predictions. It’s scary to think of another four years stuck with Trump, and he’s going to be back with a vengeance over losing his re-election.

slop101

We really need to switch to the popular vote - it would solve most of this shit.

d2cheer

Not shocking at all you are for that...

Cellar Door

I mean, it's kind of insane that a candidate could get millions of more votes than their opponent and lose the election to them.

slop101

It's shocking more people aren't!

d2cheer

No it really isn't.


And you know why.

cultshock

Agreed, I honestly can't see it happening any other way at this point.

slop101

I don't think I do. Care to enlighten me with your great insight instead this namby-pamby obtuse bullshit thing you're doing?

Bandoman

Yes it is.

And I do know why.

d2cheer

You can google the Electoral College on your own and learn about it. Since it is obvious you don't remember it from grade/middle school.

slop101

Oh, I thought you had an actual point, instead of the same recycled out-fucking-dated garbage people like you have been pedaling ever since it became obvious that the GOP would never win if there was a popular vote.

d2cheer

People like me...




Pot see kettle.

Paff

I'm trying to avoid turning this into the Political Forum, but I'll take d2cheer's bait anyway. Yes, I'm aware of the Electoral College, how it works, and why it's in place. I just feel it's an outdated concept, one written at a time when it took weeks to find out what a presidential candidate says. Nowadays, when a candidate farts, you can hear it in Pig's Knuckle, Arkansas, the same second you hear it in Los Angeles. Also with scientific polling, we know which states are guaranteed for which candidates, and as such, they IGNORE certain areas of the country if they're either a lock for themself or for the other candidate.

I like to ask a question: Let's say you're a presidential candidate for one of the two major parties and an issue comes up. Solution A would benefit the West Coast. Solution B would benefit the deep south. Solution C would benefit the rust belt areas of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Which position do you take? Obviously, Solution C. Note, and this is important, that in this hypothetical, it does not matter if you are a Democrat or Republican.

The Electoral College served a purpose once (maybe), but in the days of instantaneous mass media it is simply no longer needed. A candidate should have an appeal to most Americans and not focus on just a few "battleground" states that year after year decide the election. THAT is why it's surprising that more people aren't actively against it. The only people who still want it are those for whom it still gives them a chance to win even though they enjoy the support of less than half the population of the country.

slop101

Thank you for confirming that you have zero point, have no idea what you're talking about and that you're only trolling.

Jason

In reading the Wikipedia article on the Electoral College, it seems it has been tried in multiple nations around the world, but abandoned when (ironically) democracy took hold. We seem to be the last holdout. I can't imagine anyone in their right minds advocating starting a system like this from scratch in today's world.

Paff

On Sunday night, John Oliver (to keep this somewhat on-topic, as in, it's also a TV show on HBO) brought up the situation in Idaho, where the Lt. Gov is issuing executive orders whenever the Governor is out of state, legal in the state constitution. Which he added "was clearly written before the invention of CELL PHONES." Meaning, there was a time when if the governor was out of state, they were completely unreachable for most likely several months, and if an emergency came up there should be a plan in place. That no longer holds true. Every elected official is now reachable 24/7.

We're basing our selection of government on 18th century technology. It's not a good plan going forward. All those documents, including the Big One, had provisions for alteration as technology developed. We're just refusing to do it.

Throwing Copper

This returns for Season 20 tonight after a 2-month break.

A lot of people bitch about the show these days but it’s still Must See TV for me, even when it’s not good.

and I love the tagline Bill. Back. Better. 😂

-
​​​​​​—

***Bonus afterwards, Bob Costas sports show is back too. I really enjoy that one, even though it’s only once a month.

John Pannozzi

And now Bill is supporting the idea of Elon Musk owning Twitter. Oh, I can't wait to see how people react to this.

RichC2

Shrug, it's his opinion. Twitter is a cesspool and needs to be put out to pasture.

Musk wants free speech insofar that it isn't against him or his projects.

I actually wouldn't hate Twitter if news outlets didn't use responses on it as their justification for their "Might be an opinion, might be news" articles. Or just reporting everything on it as actual news. It's a platform for trolling, not legitimate discourse.

Eric F

I stopped caring about what Bill Maher thinks a long time ago.

Count Dooku

Gunde

I think we can all say that about a lot of people. Why is that relevant to anything?

Troy Stiffler

Entertainers have a lot of influence. Maher's words have real influence among his viewers. I tend to feel the same way about Maher, entertainers, pundits, and podcasters. Episodes, months, years, decades can go by where you feel in tune with everything they say. Then opinions shift and my attachment to that person is lost.

We were just talking about David Mamet and Dennis Miller. Both entertainers who I used to really look up to. I used to watch Fox News until they went off the deep end in 2008.

I currently enjoy watching Bill Maher. But I don't agree much. Colbert and Meyers are good for adding comedy. I still really like Jon Stewart. I find most cable news pundits to be unwatchable. Filmmakers I love to hear from tend to be non-political when they're on a podcast or interview.

aktick

Yup. I don’t agree with half of what he (Musk or Maher) says, but he says it with an open mind, unlike 90% of folks spouting off on social media/cable news.